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AFTER MORE TALKS ABOUT a "watergate" — the group all decided to head back to the lake and try to find the said watergate and close it before Vecna could do anything else. "Dustin, can you slow down? Dustin!" Steve called after his friend as they all followed behind him — Pauley grabbed onto Eddie's hand as they walked. "I think we're getting close." Dustin said to the others — glancing at them as he did before Steve grabbed his arm to save him from falling into the water, "Watch your step big guy." The others quickly joined them and Steve was the first to speak, "Oh man, you gotta be shitting me. I thought these woods looked familiar." Robin spoke up, "Lover's Lake." Dustin narrowed his eyes, "This is confounding — there's a gate in Lover's Lake?" Pauley looked at Eddie, "What's Lover's Lake?" She asked him in a quiet voice as the others spoke, Eddie looked at her with a smile, "I'll explain to you later Lee."

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It was now nighttime and the group was going to go out on a boat to find the gate — "Easy, I.. I said easy, man." Steve said to Eddie as he was the first to step into the boat — Pauley stepped into the boat with one leg and Eddie lifted a hand to give her balance which she appreciated before she sat down next to Eddie. The two helped Robin and Nancy in before Dustin went to step in, "Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us?" Steve asked as he held him back with one arm, "This thing holds four people tops, okay?" The sadness on Dustin's face was evident and Steve noticed it. He placed a hand on the boys shoulder, "It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here with Max, keep an eye out for trouble." Dustin rolled his eyes, "You keep an eye out. It's my goddamn theory." Steve shrugged, "You heard Nance."

"Compass." Steve said and Dustin tossed it to him before the older teen quickly got in the boat and pushed off. "You said four!" Dustin yelled and Steve shrugged, "Sorry." He whispered as he paddled out into the middle of the lake. "Bedtime at nine kiddos, miss you already!" Robin called resulting in Dustin flipping her off. The boat soon came to a stop since Steve had stopped them by holding up his hand, "Whoa, wait, wait, wait." The compass was flicking back and forth. "Guys, what's going on? Come on talk to me, what's going on?" Dustin's voice came through Robin's Walkie-Talkie and she quickly responded, "Uh, Dustin, you're compass has gone from wonky to wonky with a capital "aah!"" Suddenly, Steve stood up and began taking off his shoes and socks, "Steve, what're you doing?" Nancy questioned and Steve looked at her. "Somebody's go down and check this out. Unless one of you guys can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years then... it's gotta be me. No complaints, all right?"

Eddie shrugged, "Hey, I'm not complaining, I do not want to go down there." The three girls nodded in agreement and Steve sighed before he took his shirt off and it was clear that Nancy was checking him out — even if she didn't mean to. Before Steve jumped into the water, Nancy stopped him, "Hey." He looked at her. "Good luck." He nodded, "Thanks." Steve dived into the water. The three in the boat were all tense, "Where we at, Wheeler?" Robin asked Nancy and she looked at her watch, "Closing in on a minute." Robin nodded. "Come on, Steve. Come on." She mumbled and Pauley couldn't help but grab Eddie's hand tightly as the all waited for Steve to pop back up — and luckily, he did.

"Oh Christ!" Eddie exclaimed as Steve popped up and held the side of the boat, "I found it." He breathed out and Robin raised her brows, "You found it?" Steve nodded, "I found it. Yeah, I found it." Robin relayed the information to Dustin before Steve spoke again, "It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate but, still, it's pretty damn big." Suddenly, something tugged on Steve once before pulling him all the way into the water, "No, no!" Eddie yelled as they all clamored around the edge of the boat — they all called for him. "What the hell was that man?" Eddie yelled and Pauley put her head in her hands, "Nancy what was that?" Nancy shrugged as she panicked, "I don't know!" After a few seconds passed, Nancy looked down in the water before looking at the others, "Wait, wait, wait — you're not going in there, are you?" Eddie asked and Nancy sighed, "Just wait here." The three protested as Nancy dove in the water.

Robin looked down in the water before looking at Eddie and Pauley. "What are you doing? She said wait." Eddie said and Robin nodded as she looked between the two, "Yeah, I heard her." Eddie scoffed, "Isn't she in charge?" Robin shook her head, "No, are you kidding, I made that shit up." Holding her nose with one hand — Eddie and Pauley protested as they watched Robin fall backwards into the water. "Shit!" Eddie exclaimed as he looked at Pauley — she bit her lip as she stood up, "Might as well." She said with a shrug before she jumped into the water and soon, Eddie followed behind her. All of them soon going through the gate to the Upside Down.

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Finding boat oars to use as weapons — the four went out to search for Steve, who they soon found getting attacked by bat-like creatures. Nancy got the first hit before her and Robin killed the one strangling Steve, "Kill it! Kill it!" Eddie had yelled before hitting an incoming bat creature before Pauley hit the one coming from behind him. "Thanks." He breathed and she nodded. More bat creatures began flying at them — one getting on Nancy's back which Robin smacked off. "Come on! Come on you son of a bitch!" Eddie yelled before hitting one of the bats — thunder boomed behind them. Steve got up, blood spilling out of his mouth as he tore a bat apart, "Steve!" Nancy exclaimed and Eddie looked around with wide eyes, "Jesus Christ. Jesus H. Christ!" He yelled before letting go of the boat oar in his hand and pulling Pauley in for a hug, he pulled away and began checking her face. "You okay? Are you hurt?" He asked, searching for any wounds on her and Pauley shook her head, "I'm okay honey — are you hurt?" Eddie shook his head before he smiled at her, he placed a kiss on her lips.

Robin stood off to the side and looked panicked, "Um, do you guys think these bats have rabies?" Everyone else looked at her. "What?" Steve asked and Robin gulped, "It's just that rabies are like my number one greatest fear and I think we should get you to a doctor soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late, you're already dead." Before anyone could respond, more chittering came from behind them — they looked at the gate and saw that bats were flying to them. "All right. There's not that many. We can take 'em, right?" Robin asked before more bats began to fly to them. Steve looked at her, "You were saying?" A large swarm of bats was coming for them. "The woods. Come on." Steve said and Eddie couldn't help but groan. "Great. More running."

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In a coincidental turn of events — the group ended up at Skull Rock. Nancy was tending to Steve's wounds as Robin slowly freaked out about the possibility of rabies. Pauley and Eddie on the other hand were close by yet, they had some privacy from the others. "That was close." Eddie said and Pauley nodded, "Too close." Eddie grabbed her hand and held it in his own before bringing her hand up to his lips — kissing her knuckles before he sighed, "Do you wanna be my girlfriend? I swear I'll take you out on a real date after all this shit goes back to normal." Pauley smiled at his words before nodding. Robin's voice brought them back to the situation at hand, "So the good news is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies but if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive like you want to punch me, let me know." Steve looked at Robin with a bitter smile, "Robin." She looked at him. "Yeah?"

"I kinda want to punch you." Robin let out a nervous laugh, "Sense of humor's still in tact. That's a good sign." Nancy continued to bandage him up and Pauley looked at Eddie, "Can I ask you something I've been wondering for close to a day now?" She asked and Eddie nodded. "How did you know the words to Rhiannon?" Eddie sighed at her questioned — he smiled at her words, "Hm, well — I used to listen to Fleetwood Mac 'cause of my mom, and I got more into them mostly 'cause of Stevie Nicks. She's a badass and I tried to learn a lot of their songs on the guitar before I remembered seeing your tape of Fleetwood Mac in your bag. It brought me back and I learned almost all their songs — just got lucky that I practiced Rhiannon the most." His explanation made Pauley smile before she placed a kiss on his lips. They made their way back to the others.

Eddie spoke up, "So, uh, this place is Hawkins but with monsters and nasty shit?" Nancy nodded. "Pretty much." As Eddie went to walk, Steve stopped him, "Wait, watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind." Eddie quirked his brow. "It's all a what?" Steve sighed, "All the creepy crawlies around here. They're like one or something, step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna." Eddie sighed, "Shit. But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?" Steve nodded, "As far as I understand it, yeah." Robin spoke up, "So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate." Steve rolled his eyes, "I highly doubt that Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin. But guns yeah, sure." Nancy stood up and looked between them all, "Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns in my bedroom."

"You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?" Eddie asked and Robin smiled, "Full of surprises isn't she?" Nancy spoke again, "A Russian Makarov and a revolver." Steve chuckled, "Yeah, you almost shot me with that one." Nancy looked at him, "You almost deserved it." Pauley couldn't help but smile.

"Nancy Wheeler is a badass."

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Eddie had given Steve his denim vest and a little talk on how much he meant to Dustin before they all showed up at the Wheeler home. Nancy quickly went inside — the others following behind her. The house was filled with was looked like dust particles and Pauley couldn't help but cough slightly as she followed Robin, Eddie, and Nancy to her room. Nancy quickly went to where her guns should be but instead of guns they were heels, "Those aren't guns." Eddie said and Robin spoke also, "Those heels are pointy but I was hoping for a deadly projectile." Nancy furrowed hee brows, "I don't understand." Pauley tried to make her feel better, "Maybe they're in a different box or something." Nancy shook her head, "There's a six year old in the house, I know where I keep my guns. And also, I threw these away years ago."

Nancy began to rifle through her drawers before pulling out a bunch of index cards that she rifled through quickly, "I get that grades are important but perhaps studying can wait 'till we get out of here?" Robin teased but Nancy shook her head, "These are from sophomore chemistry." She looked at her walls. "And this... this wallpaper, this is old wallpaper." She pointed towards her vanity, "And this mirror, this went to a yard sale." She looked at a teddy bear on her bed, "And you.. you aren't supposed to be here. No, I gave you to cousin Joanna two years ago." Pauley furrowed her brows, "What is it?" Robin looked at Nancy, "Nancy, you're freaking me out." Nancy looked around her room. "I think the reason my guns aren't here is because they don't exist yet." Eddie furrowed his brows, "They don't... exist..?"

Looking through her bedside table, Nancy grabbed her diary and flickered through it, "This diary should be full of entries. It's not. The last entry is November, 6, 1983. The day Will went missing — the day the gate opened — we're in the past."

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The sound of Steve yelling out Dustin's name brought the four out of Nancy's room. "Can you hear me? Dustin!" Steve yelled and Robin looked at Nancy, "Maybe he really does have rabies." Steve looked around at the ceiling. "Hello! Hello!" Robin looked at Steve, "What are you doing?" She asked as he yelled again before he looked at her, "He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like, he's in the walls or something — just listen." That's when they all began yelling for Dustin.

"Dustin?"

"Dustin."

"Dustin!"

"Dustin?"

"Dustin!"

They all stopped, "All right. Either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag." Steve said before Nancy looked at them all, "Will found a way." Everyone looked at her, "What?" They said in unison. "Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights." Steve furrowed his brows, "Lights?" She nodded. "Yeah. The switch, try the switch." He nodded — flicking the switch on and off but nothing happened. "It's not working." Nancy said but the sound of Eddie's voice brought their attention to something else. "Guys? You seeing this?" They all walked over to him and looked up at the chandelier, it was a red color with glowing orbs — the all reached up and began touching it, "It... tickles." Robin giggles and Pauley nods as she giggles also — Eddie looking at her with a smile. "It kinda feels good." She says before Nancy speaks, "Does anybody know Morse code?"

"No." Both Robin and Steve say but Pauley shrugs and Eddie looks at Nancy, "Wait, does SOS count? Is that.. good?" They all nodded and Eddie looked up at the light before tapping the pattern, "It's working." Pauley whispers. "Come on. Come on." Steve says and the sound of Dustin yelling out to them confirmed that it was working. Dustin ordered for them to follow and that's what they did — seeing the same particles from the light in the hallway now in Nancy's room. "... seeing this?" Dustin's voice came through and they all touched the particles — resulting in Dustin laughing happily. "... stand by!" His voice echoed before it came through again. ".. try it now!" Nancy looked at all of them before she began to write the word "hi" to them — ".. hi!" Dustin yelled back resulting in them celebrating. Writing out "stuck" was easy enough and Dustin figured out what was happening with them.

"... can't get through watergate?" Dustin asked and Pauley took a turn at writing the word "guarded" for them. ".. we have a theory to help.." Dustin's words echoed and they all breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes." Steve said as Robin looked at the ceiling. "Genius child." Pauley nodded at her words, "Literally." They all listened closely. "... murder site." Steve furrowed his brows, "Does anyone understand what he's talking about?" They all shook their heads but Pauley tried to put the pieces together — but Dustin's angry voice came through after Nancy wrote a question mark. "Jesus Christ. This kid's gotta get his ego in check." Eddie said and Steve nodded. "It's his tone, right?" Eddie nodded before Pauley gasped, "Oh my god — I know what he means."

She began to write the word "trailer" and Dustin's cheering came through, "... wrote that?" He asked and Pauley wrote out her name and Dustin's voice came again, "... knew it." Pauley looked at Eddie, "How far is your trailer from here?" Eddie sighed, "Uh, seven miles." Pauley looked at Nancy, "Do you have something we can use to get there?" Nancy bit her lip in thought before she nodded, "Yeah... I do."

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The five of them rode bikes all the way to Eddie's trailer before getting off of them and quickly going inside. "Now, if I'm right." Pauley mumbled as she looked up at the gate where Chrissy was taken and Vecna entered — something was pushing on it before it broke through — on the other side was Dustin, Erica, Max, and Lucas. They were upside down to them, "Hi!" Dustin called and they all waved at them. The plan now was to get through to the real world safely. Eddie went to his room and grabbed his mattress before passing it through the gate — the lights showing the stains on it. "I dunno what those stains are." He said and Pauley couldn't help but giggle.

Dustin passed through a make-shift rope made of blankets that basically dangled between both worlds. "All right! Pull on it, see if it holds!" Dustin said and Robin did just that. Dustin laughed, "This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my life and I've seen some crazy shit." Eddie said and Robin looked at them, "Guess I'm the guinea pig." She said as she began to climb up the rope which turned into her dangling upside down from it. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed as she landed on the mattress. Eddie looked at Pauley, "Go ahead." He told her and she gave him a smile before doing what Robin did — she landed on the mattress with a laugh, "That was fun." Eddie climbed through and he landed with a laugh, "Shit." He exclaimed — his hair spread out behind his head made Pauley laugh. Eddie quickly got up and hugged her, holding her against his side. Steve chuckled at their actions before he looked at Nancy, "See you on the other side."

Nancy nodded at him, "On the other side." But before Nancy could grab the rope — she stopped and just froze. "Nancy." Steve said as he grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes were rolling to the back of her head — "Hey! Hey! Stay with me, Nancy! Hey." He shook her again, "Nancy. Wake up!" Steve shakes her as his voice get shakier.

"Wake up Nancy!"

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